2-year-old, mother shot in Menlo Park drive-by

MENLO PARK -- A 2-year-old boy and his mother were shot in the legs and a bullet grazed the toddler's head Saturday night, police said.

The shots were reported at 7:44 p.m. as a car drove by the intersection of Willow Road and Bayfront Expressway, directly across from Facebook's offices, said Menlo Park police commander Dave Bertini.

The driver of the four-door Honda that was sprayed with bullets drove to a McDonald's parking lot near East Palo Alto City Hall and the victims called 911.

Both the 24-year-old mother and her son were taken to Stanford University Medical Center, where they were listed in stable condition with injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

Four other people in the car were not injured, police said.

The 2-year-old was sitting in his mother's lap when someone in a passing green Honda stuck a handgun outside the window and fired as many as 10 or 11 rounds, Menlo Park police Sgt. Kevin Paugh said.

The Honda headed east toward the Dumbarton Bridge, police said. The whereabouts of the car, which reportedly had two occupants, was unknown late Saturday.

The shooting horrified first responders and bystanders alike.

East Palo Alto police Sgt. David Carson was among the first on the scene when the victims drove into the McDonald's parking lot.

"I wanted to know if the little boy was OK, and they gave me the thumbs up, and I said, 'Thank God,' " Carson said.

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Carlota Calvillo, a leader in the local Catholic community who was attending Mass nearby, said the community is fed up with the violence.

"So many people don't feel safe,'' Calvillo said. "The police need to check the cars. Everybody has guns in their cars."

Officers said they didn't know if the shooting was gang-related.

In late November, police said that more than a dozen shootings and several slayings in East Palo Alto and Menlo Park over a six-month period were linked to a deadly feud between two rival street gangs.

About an hour and 15 minutes after the Menlo Park shooting, police responded to another shooting on Capitol Avenue east of Bell Street in East Palo Alto. Witnesses reported seeing a body covered by a sheet as police cordoned off the area.

Police said the shooting appeared to be unrelated to the Menlo Park shooting.